Customer Reviews

Caught in the Middle (Amhearst Mystery Series #1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine you want to take a can of diet Coke out of your trunk and find a body instead. That's what happens to Merry Kramer who just moved to Amhearst, Pennsylvania to work as a reporter for the local newspaper and to forget about her ex-boyfriend. After the first shock she is interested in finding out who killed the man in her trunk. Not only because she is involved but also because it's now her story. The first thing she finds out is that now someone tries to kill her. It seems as if the killer thinks she knows something. And why is Andy, the main suspect, hiding since the day she found the corpse? Is he the one who tries to kill Merry? What about the death of Trudy, the mayor, who died in an accident she had at home? And why is Merrry's boss behaving so strange towards her? Luckily Curt, a painter is always with her to protect her. But then Andy wants to talk to Merry alone! She agrees and the showdown can start...

I enjoyed reading this book from the first to the last page. It's a mistery where as reader you always get the story from the point of view of Merry. So you get the same information as Merry and you can guess with her who did it. And it's not untill the showdown that the reader and Merry find out what happened. I like misteries like that. The book has only about 230 pages so it's not too long and quick and easy to read. No long hold ups with unimportatnt information. I really recommend this book.

Merry Kramer is a feisty reporter not afraid of an assignment - even if it includes chasing down the person who put a dead man's body in the trunk of her car.

Roper delivers a spirited heroine who is confident yet sometimes questions herself. With Merry Kramer, she has created a likeable, good-head-on-her-shoulders character and has numerous possibilities of whodunit in this story.

If you like mystery, intrigue, and suspense with a bit of romance, you'll want to read the three book series.

I picked up this book by random one day when I was my local christian bookstore. I started reading it and I couldn't put it down. The book is about a rockie reporter for a local newspaper who just happens to be a sleuth as well! The main character's name is Merry Kramer. One night as she was doing a human interest story she finds a dead body in the trunk of her car. When another dead body is found Merry becomes suspicious. When realize that she is the next target she realizes that she knows something the murderer wants to be kept hidden.... I'm not telling anymore because it is just too exciting.

This whodunit has everything you could hope for in a mystery--clues that lead the reader delightfully astray, suspense to the very end, a double-dose of romantic intrigue, and a truly lovable heroine. But here's the real surprise: This book is also laugh out-loud funny. More, please!

I am sick and tired of reading sappy Christian novels that revolve around a perfect heroine-beautiful, perfect, damsel in distress type. That is why I love Gayle Roper's Caught in the Middle series-her heroine is none of those things!

Merry Kramer is the kind of person you would meet in the check out line in the grocery store who got in the Express lane with 1 item too many. She's like a real person-nothing phony about her. She's hilarious! I fall off the couch laughing every time I read this book! She doesn't do stupid things like other heroines do (you know, like running into the dark, abandoned building at night while being chased). She's sensible, and a little bit ditzy, just like normal people!

The mystery here is truly a good one-and I read mysteries all the time. I can usually figure out what's going to happen, but this book kept me guessing until the answer was revealed. Curt, the love interest in the story, isn't the knight in shining armor that fixes everything-true, he helps her out a couple of times, but she is not at all a subservient type of lady! She tells him off several times, which results in very entertaining reading!

Bottom line: Read this book if you're sick of cheesy, unreal Christian novels with characters that make you want to puke.

This was a very fun book to read. I never thought a mystery novel could keep me on the edge of my seat in suspense yet keep me laughing at the same time. Merry Kramer, the feisty heroine is adorable. The romance in this book isn't sappy either. It was just perfect!

This was a good introduction to an inspirational mystery series of which I will be reading more. Merrileigh "Merry" Kramer is new to Amhearst, PA and has been working for The News, the local newspaper for just about three months when she finds a body in her car trunk. Of course, she must write a story on this and so she does. She ALSO has to write a puff piece on a local artist, Curtis Carlyle, whose show is opening the next evening. She and Curt hit it off rather well and she runs into him again the next night when they wind up being shot at. Various mishaps continue to occur until, of course, Merry stumbles onto the murderer.

One of the major things I enjoyed about this story was the humor. It was a unique style of humor that occasionally made me laugh out loud. I didn't feel as though I was being pandered to, which was nice. The humor was truly humorous. Also, this is definitely a Christian mystery, but I didn't feel as though I was beaten over the head with religion. Merry is just your average twenty-something with relationship issues, flaws, etc. She does rely on God, but she also makes mistakes - and not the HUGE mistakes that you sometimes find in Christian novels - just your average, everyday kinds of stupid things people do. I really appreciated that!

I welcome this series debut and will be reading the others in the series.

This is a great mystery. Merry is a well drawn character who it's really easy to like. I loved the attention to detail down to the handbell scene. The story had a couple surprises for me. I had an idea how it would end, but enjoyed the ride so much that I really didn't care. The other plots involving her personal life are great and add to the story so much. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a great mystery.

Mystery authors will hate me. I am the type of reader that will look at the end of the book. But take it as a compliment! It means I am enjoying the book so much that I want to know the ending now! And I did enjoy Caught in the Middle, the 1st book the Amhearst Mysteries series. Merry Kramer is an ideal heroine who wants independence and to become a reporter for the local paper. However that's all interrupted when she opens her car trunk and finds a dead body on top of her Oreos and soda. When the mayor turns up dead the next day, Merry soon finds her life being threatened. The book gives readers a ride of twists and turns as you try to figure out who's behind everything. And yes I was surprised with the ending. This was a very well written mystery with a strong female character. The end of the book leaves you hanging. Recommended for any grown up Nancy Drew fan.

"Caught in the Middle" is a humorous mystery. However, since Merry had no common sense, I didn't enjoy the novel very much. The great majority of the danger she was in came from her doing stupid things--like antagonizing someone who just admitted to killing someone in a fit of anger. And Merry often knew that what she was doing wasn't wise and went against common sense, but she did it anyway.

The mystery also wasn't very difficult to figure out. Merry had to actually be told the answer, and then the author tried to get cute and kept having the characters refer to the guy hunting her as "him" rather than by name, as though it was some big secret that she wasn't going to let the reader in on. I found that annoying.

I also didn't like the "hero." Merry had just freed herself from a verbally abusive jerk boyfriend only to pick up a "nice, wonderful Christian guy" who did things he knew annoyed her, always ordered her around like she had no brain (and she had a brain, just no common sense), didn't listen to her, and was otherwise just as bad as her last boyfriend. I did like that she didn't follow his orders, but the problem was that sometimes they were sensible ones, and he never learned that ordering her around would backfire.

Finally, there were some problems with the suspense scenes. For example, Merry was wearing a thick scarf wound 1.5 times over her neck but was quickly almost strangled to death. It's hard enough to strangle someone without thick padding in the way.

All that said, if you're into cheerfully get-herself-into-trouble heroines with spunk, you'll probably enjoy this novel. It's otherwise well written, it just happened to hit all my pet peeves.

Merry and several other characters were Christians, and it was portrayed as a part of their lifestyle. Merry prayed for help, mused about how she ought to be trusting God instead of worrying, and so on. The end got a little preachy, though, when two characters lectured each other about how they really needed to forgive and let go. While true, neither had asked for the other's opinion.

There was no sex. I don't recall any bad language. Overall, it was humorous, clean reading.